


Tales of Tails in Law Enforcement

by OfficerFox



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-06-07 02:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6781516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfficerFox/pseuds/OfficerFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick Clawston is a totally average red fox who's wanted to be the first fox cop since he was a kit. But Nick Wilde took that spot. ...There's always room for a second fox cop, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be so bad it summons the four horsemen.. Also, I apologize for the terrible puns. And writing.

A Guns and Rodents song blasts through a bedroom, waking up a fox who, until now, was unconsciously enjoying a sleep-in-till-noon contingency. Mumbling to himself, the vulpine rolls over and opens his eyes, revealing a set of chocolate brown irises as he stares down at his phone:

"Why the hell is Dad calling?"

Nonetheless, he slides a finger across the bottom end of the screen.

"Nicholas A. Clawston! Are you kidding me right now!?"

Nick nearly drops his phone, having to swipe at it a few times in the air. His eyes bulge, even though he moved out years ago, there is still nothing like the feeling in your gut when your parent uses your full name, and _that_ tone. The fox swallows nervously, and stammers out a reply.  
  
"D-Dad, what're ya' talkin' about? I, uh, I just woke up."

Out of nervous habit, the fox grabs his left ear and pulls down, folding it against his cheek.

"C'mon! Fifteen years of telling me you wanna be the first fox cop, and you don't tell me about your graduation!?"  
  
Nick pauses, his ear flicking back upward.  
  
"Dad, I haven't gone to Academy yet. I'm going in next wave, remember?"

"Then why is Mike calling and telling me there's a fox graduating from the Academy on ZNN right now?"

The fox sits up in his bed, and makes his way to his living room. He grabs the remote off of the couch that takes a corner made by the counter and a wall, and flicks on the TV. The image of Anna Winters, the famed Snow Leopard reporter, pops onto the screen.  
  
"Thank you, Peter. In other news, the ZPD is proud to announce the induction of their first fox officer, Nicholas Wilde, the same fox that with the help of Officer Hopps uncovered the Nighthowler conspiracy nearly a year ago."

Nick's mouth slowly falls open in disappointment as he processes the information. He sighs, and puts the phone back to his ear.

"Hey dad, uh, Mike's not wrong. There  _is_ a fox graduating from the Academy, it's just that, uh, it's not me."

A click of the tongue resonates from the tinny speaker of the fox's phone. Nick leans back into the couch, then decides to lay on his side.

"Shit Nick, I guess, uh, you could always be the second fox cop? I mean, you don't hav'ta be the _first_ fox cop."  
  
The vulpine exhales rather loudly from his nose. Fifteen years of hopes and dreams, all washed down the toilet.  
  
"Yeah, I guess there's always a room for a second fox cop."

"Keep your chin up. You didn't get a degree in Criminal Justice to get discouraged and do nothin' with your life."

Nick simply rests his head on the arm of the couch, his eyes simply staring at the moving pictures of a fox in uniform being awarded his badge. Nick's father, met without a response, continues to talk.

"You hear me Nick?"

"Yeah, I hear ya'. Talk to you later, I guess."

"Seeya."

The fox taps the red icon on his phone's screen, and stares at the ceiling. He sighs, and opens the camera app on his phone. There, he uses the self-facing camera to record himself.

"Me, Nicholas Clawston, some red fox who wanted to be a cop, but got discouraged, and with no use for his degree, ended up living off the state and doing nothing but shitpost on furChan all day. That's me!"

Tapping a icon on the screen, the vulpine stops the recording, then plays it over.

"Me, Nicholas Clawston, some red fox who wanted to be a cop, but got discouraged, and with no use for his degree, ended up living off the state and doing nothing but shitpost on furChan all day. That's me!"

In a move of what some would call going crazy, Nick responds to his own voice.

"I'm better than that."

The fox taps the 'play' button again.

"Me, Nicholas Clawston, some red fox who wanted to be a cop, but got discouraged, and with no use for his degree, ended up living off the state and doing nothing but shitpost on furChan all day. That's me!"

"You know what other me? I'm going to go down to the Precinct and pick up an application right now!"

Nick looks down from the ceiling to himself, and spots one issue with his plan as it stands.

"Although, I should probably put some clothes on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, wallet-"

The fox taps his right pocket.

"keys-"

Nick taps his left pocket, the impact creating a metallic jingle.

"phone-"

The vulpine taps his right pocket again, and makes out the shape of his phone.

"sunglasses-"

Nick removes his aviators from the collar of his red plaid shirt, unfolds them, and dons them on his muzzle.

"check. Let's do this."

The fox opens his front door, slinks through it, and slams it shut. However, the sound normally attributed to a door latching is replaced with a thud and a sudden yelp from Nick. He slowly cranes his head around, eventually staring down one of the worst fears a tailed mammal could have; shutting the door on your tail. The fox bites down in pain, and immediately withdraws his tail from the doorway. He slowly coils his tail, and grabs it with both hands.

"Oh shit! You just shut your tail in the door, huh?"

Nick looks up from his tail and spots his neighbor, a pig who's kinda friendly, but there isn't any common interests to become actual friends.

"Y-yeah."

"Shit, that sucks."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, I've gotta be goin', so seeya."

"Sure thing!"

The fox walks around the corner in the apartment building, and balls his fists to the point where his fingers hurt from squeezing.

"Atleast nothin' broke. 'Least nothin' broke. Still hurts like a mofo."

Nick reaches into his right pocket, and withdraws his phone. He then plugs in a set of earbuds, places the buds inside his party-hat ears, and begins scrolling through his saved music.

'Furgie? Screw it, Glamorous is still good.'

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0SyUgw98tE)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The draft resulting from the opening of the Precinct's doors makes the fox shiver as he walks inside. Considering this building's status as a precinct, the inside itself is a surprise: Multilevel balconies, massive skylights, and only one receptionist. Glancing around, Nick continues through the lobby to the receptionist, a Cheetah who's carrying a tad more than a few extra pounds.

"Nick? I thought you were graduating right now! If Chief sees you he's gonna blow his top!"

The fox removes his glasses, and blinks twice.

"Oh crap! I thought you were someone else! I, am so, so sorry! Anyway, what can I help ya' with today?"

"Uh, I'm lookin' for a application or sign up thing for the next Academy?"

"Ooh! Another fox cop, huh?"

Nick curves an awkward smile up his right jowl, and mock chuckles. In an attempt to change the subject, he leans forward onto the counter of the desk.

"Uh-huh, that's the plan."

"Sweet! Oh, you need a pen, huh?"

The fox taps his pockets, but there aren't any fruits to the labor.

"Yeah, guess I do."

The Cheetah takes a pen out of a Gazelle branded mug, and hands it over to Nick. He accepts the pen, but does a double take at the Gazelle branding on both the mug and the pen itself. The fox furrows his brow, and looks up towards the Cheetah.

"Oh my gosh! You recognize her?!"

Nick's face curls into a smile, the first genuine one he's had for a few days.

"Eh, I'm more of a Furgie mammal myself. Just like the oldies, I guess."

"Oh! I almost forgot, I'm Ben Clawhauser, but everyone here just calls me Clawhauser."

The fox switches the paper and pen from his right to his left, and extends his now free hand for a shake.

"Nick Clawston."

Clawhauser accepts Nick's hand, and shakes it rather enthusiastically.

"Wait, another fox cop, and he's also named Nick? Oh my gosh, what are the odds!"

Nick shrugs.

"I'unno, anyway, uh, any tables or somethin' I can fill this out?"

"Oh, right over there by that moose in the trenchcoat, there should be a free spot!"

"Thanks."

The fox takes the paper and pen, then heads across the lobby to the area Ben had pointed out. Sure enough, it was a collection of tables and chairs, seemingly serving as a spot for officers to jot down notes or paperwork. Nick takes a rather isolated spot, and sets to fill out the application. However, the sound of a hoof connecting with the tile of the precinct cocks one of the fox's ears to his left.

"Caught me. You know what you're signing up for, kid?"

Nick stays still and quiet, his gaze focused on the application in front of him.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough."

The fox's ear twitches just so as the moose begins heading to the back of the lobby. Regardless, he sets the pen down on the first section of the paper.

'Today's the day, me. Today's the day.'


	2. Academy, The Morning Of

Seemingly endless fields of grass continue to reveal themselves as the fox gleefully runs through, occasionally jumping up and over the blanket of plants. To Nick's surprise, a somewhat peaceful and regal piano tune begins playing. He stops for a moment, and glances around, looking for the source of the chimes. However, the voice of a female breaks through the echoes of the piano.

_'How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?'_

Nick stops dead in his tracks, his joints stiffening up at the sudden realization.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fox, despite the rude interruption from his dream, still wakes up slowly, with both his paws balled into fists rubbing his eyes. The peace of just waking up is countered by the sudden sighting of a certain cord tracing a line between a phone resting on a nightstand, and from what Nick can see, leads up to his head. 

_'My spirits sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead, it, back,'_

Nick's ears twitch just a bit, why is he still hearing the song that was playing in the dream? Unless....

_'Home.'_

It happens in a flash; the fox hurriedly tears the buds from his ears, and paws at his phone as some sort of backup plan.

_'Wake me up! Wake me up inside!'_

His ears pointing down and to the rear, Nick slumps back down in bed, huffing out a deep breath. The vulpine then furrows his brow and stares at the ceiling. 

'Why was my phone playing that song?'

The fox blindly paws at his nightstand with his right hand, eventually grabbing his phone. The sudden brightness of his phone forces him to squint, but he can already make out the notification:

_Alarm at 4:40AM: "Do all of your 'before the bus leaves at 5" list Nick!"_

Nick slowly moves the phone closer to his muzzle, trying to read the list. As he scans his screen, his eyes slowly grow wider, and he pulls down on his left ear. The fox takes in a deep breath, and utters one word.

"Fuck."

Not unlike a bullet from a gun, the vulpine snaps out of bed, and immediately heads to his dresser. He flings the drawers open, scrambling through once neatly folded garments in search of something to wear. Nick puts both his arms into a button-up, and begins to fumble with the first button. His eyes go even wider as he realizes how long it'd take to do all of these buttons. As fast as he started, the fox throws the shirt off his shoulders back into the drawer, and pulls out a 'Red Hop Chili Peppers' t-shirt. Nick slides it over his head, and steals a glance at his phone's clock; 4:44 AM. A shout comes out, but doesn't make it past the vulpine's muzzle before he stops himself. Nick bends down, and grabs a pair of jeans before running to the bathroom.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit!"

 The fox throws the medicine cabinet open, and clumsily takes out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. Standing on one leg, the vulpine finds himself pulling up one leg of his pants with one hand, and brushing his teeth with the other. He pauses for a moment, and bows his left leg out like John Mayne. Nick then clamps down on his toothbrush, and picks up the right side of his jeans with his other hand. He spits out into the sink, and puts both the brush and paste away with one hand while buttoning his pants with the other. The fox leans out of the doorway, and steals a glance at the clock; 4:46 AM. Nick's ears rotate backwards and down out of anxiety as he runs back into his bedroom, his eyes darting among the tops of the furniture. Without breaking pace, he swipes his wallet, two key-rings, and his phone off of his nightstand. The fox then runs into the kitchen and swipes an envelope from the counter as he runs toward the door. The vulpine swipes a bomber jacket from the coat rack near the door, grabs a dufflebag that was sitting on the arm of the couch, and runs out while putting both on, gently slamming the door shut behind him. Nick hurriedly sprints down the four flights of stairs, taking the steps two, sometimes three at a time. The fox turns a corner in the main lobby, and comes upon a array of mailboxes.

"C'mon, where the hell is Wilbur's box?"

Scanning with one finger upright, the vulpine searches for his neighbor's box in what could only be referred to as a frenzy.

"'Ere we go!"

Nick pulls out the pig's mail box, and without a second thought, drops one of the key rings inside. However, the fox's panic only increases tenfold when he just barely notices one glaring issue: He dropped the wrong set of keys. The vulpine gasps, and scrambles to reach into the box before it shuts again. The fox succeeds, but he does the job too well; as Nick reaches into his pocket for the good key ring, he barely spots the mailbox sliding out of it's line in the array. In a panic, he drops the keys on the ground and just hardly catches the errant box before it lands on the tile floor.

"Jeez, why is this thing so heavy!?"

Nick sets the box down on the ground as gentle as a fox holding a forty pound metal box can, and fetches the good keys from the ground next to him. He looks over the rim of the box as he places the keys in, noticing a certain package. The fox squints, and barely makes out the shipping label: 'Primal Hardware' The vulpine recoils in disgust, his ears folding back and his jowls curling up. Despite the discovery of his neighbor's 'interests', the fox quietly lifts up the box, and with difficulty, slides it back into the slot. He then stands up, and brushes off his hands on the legs of his pants.

"Alright, I'm forgetting something."

The fox taps his right pocket.

"Wallet,"

Nick taps his left pocket.

"keys,"

The vulpine taps his right pocket again.

"phone,"

Nick pauses for a moment, furrows his brow, and taps his right rear pocket.

"Envelope with my rent for the next six months I won't be here for. Kinda need to turn that in, don't I?"

The fox turns on his heel and sprints towards his landlords door. He moves to knock, but pauses. The vulpine squints for a moment, and decides to hurriedly maneuver towards the front desk. He then swipes a pen, and frantically writes down his name on the front face of the envelope. Not wasting a second, the fox sprints back to the landlord's door, and slips the the rent money under it. Nick quickly takes his phone out, and taps the screen; 4:53 AM. The fox grabs the tops of his ears, and pulls them both down to his jowls.

"Alright, I've got 7 minutes to get from here to the station. Uh, okay, so I dropped my keys off, dropped the rent off, uh, uh."

The fox looks down, and spots one of his keys poking out of his pocket. He squints, and reads the emblazoning on the piece of metal: Llamaha. 

"Oh, and I've gotta take the bike to the station to drop it off to dad. That's kinda important!"

Nick frantically scrambles through the front door and down the staircase that makes the entrance of his apartment building. Standing on the sidewalk, the fox looks up and down the street, searching for the baby-blue hue of his motorcycle's frame.

"There you are!"

The vulpine hurriedly hops onto his motorcycle, quickly slides his helmet off the handlebars, and onto his head. He kicks downward, working the action in an attempt to start the vehicle. The fox's eyes widen, it's always started on the first kick! The vulpine begins a second kick motion, but pauses. His brow furrows, if he just tried it, wouldn't the carburetors have flooded? Nick shakes his head, he doesn't have the time for this! The vulpine follows through the motion, successfully starting the engine this time. However, the start of the engine also results in a massive backfire of pooled fuel left over from from the first kick. The resulting 'BANG' is enough to set off car alarms up and down the street, and lights begin to appear in windows around the noisemaker. Nick's gut tightens to a level once unknown, his form shrinks in shame and anxiety, and his eyes widen to the point where it shouldn't be mammally possible.

"Oh, it's time to go!"

The fox flicks on the headlight, and feeds the bike an ample amount of gas, leaving the area as fast as he possibly can. Once he turns the corner at the end of his street, the vulpine flicks his visor down and coasts to a stop at a red light. Despite the time, traffic and Zootopia streets go together like bread and butter. The saying rings true in this case, but what gives the fox a surprise is the sighting of another fox on another motorcycle. Moreso, a red moped that looks like it's been stolen from the background of some nineties cyber-punk cartoon, the rider himself belonging to a different subspecies of fox altogether, the large ears and tan colors were definite giveaways. Both Nick and the other fox stare at each other quizzically, their red and tan faces respectively squinting at the other. A honk from behind makes the red vulpine nearly jump out of his fur, but a look up reveals the reason behind the honk: the light had turned green. As both foxes cross the intersection, they nod to each other, and pull off into the early morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the fox's surprise, when pulling into the parking lot of the station, there's a certain thing missing: the bus. Nick slowly coasts the motorcycle into a open space, slings his helmet off his head, and slides it onto the handlebar by the strap.

"I'll be honest kiddo, I never thought I'd see the day." 

The vulpine turns on his heels, and comes muzzle to muzzle with....

"Dad? What're you doin' here?"

The older fox slowly raises his brow in apparent disbelief at his son's question.

"What, you don't think I would be seeing you off to Academy? And besides,"

Nick's father takes his right hand from his pocket, and begins scratching his chin in a definite sarcastic manner.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the sole reason you rode your bike here instead of walking."

The younger fox clicks his tongue, looks down, and awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

"Oh, right, uh, thanks for takin' care of it while I'm gone."

The older vulpine simply gives his son a warm smile.

"Hey, it's the least I can do. I just-, ah, screw it."

Much to his son's embarrassment, the father wraps his arms around him, embracing the fox in a hug. Nick's ears immediately point down and to the rear in clear unease, and his arms stay pointing down against his side.

"Dad, c'mon, there's mammals arou-Alright, fine." 

The younger fox sighs, and returns his dad's hug. However, a certain sight acts as Nick's savior from total and  _complete_ embarrassment. Nick looks over his dad's shoulder, and spots the bus that's been the cause of his entire morning frenzy.

"Wellsorrydadit'stimetogoseeya!"

 Nick's father takes in a deep breath and exhales, letting go of his son. He looks over his shoulder, and spots the bus.

"Alright, I'll let ya' go."

The younger fox simply nods, and begins heading towards the bus. The older fox continues staring opposite of this bus, towards the motorcycle. Upon realization, he rolls his eyes.

"Hey Nick, aren't you forgettin' somethin'?

Nick freezes in place, gulping at a near audible level. In a panic, he frantically taps all of his pockets.

"Wallet,"

The fox taps his left pocket.

"Keys-....keys!"

The vulpine pulls his key ring out from his pocket, and tosses them to his father, who catches them flawlessly.

"Hey dad, uh-"

A shout from the bus emanates through the lot, a loud, gruff holler of "Last Call!"

"Seeya in six months!"

Not wasting any time, Nick turns on his heels and sprints to the bus, just making onto the first step in the interior before the door shut behind him. The fox takes in a deep breath, and exhales as he takes his first steps up the bus's- A surge of pain at the base of his tail, followed by a yelp, and a quick trip down the steel steps in the not-so-fun way halts his train of thought. He looks behind himself, and spots his tail firmly trapped between the doors of the bus.

"Oh, so this is how it's gonna be." 


	3. The Trippy Roadtrip

"Yeah, looks like that's how it's gonna be. C'mon."

The driver of the bus, a badger who had clearly seen better days, opens the doors just enough for Nick to get his tail out. His tail in his right hand, his bag in his left, the fox makes the trip up the stairs, albeit in a much more awkward and pained pace than before. Staring down the aisle, the vulpine squints, scanning for an empty chair. He eventually finds what seems to be a vacant row, and heads over there. Nick tosses his bag into the footwell, and almost stumbles at the movement of the bus leaving the lot. Nonetheless, he slumps down into the rightermost part of the seat. Cricking his back, the fox slides his phone from his pocket an-

"Hi there!"

The vulpine's ears shoot forwards, the fox's entire body nearly jumping out its own pelt in surprise. Placing a hand over his now rapidly beating heart, Nick stares to his left, and spots a-.... sheep?

"Oh! Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you! I'm Danny Wooler, what's your name?"

The fox's ears turn down, and the vulpine simply rests his head against the seat, looking down and to the left at Danny.

"I'm Nick, Nick Clawston."

The sheep nervously taps his hooves together, and lets out a nervous chuckle.

"Wow! Like, uh, one fox cop wasn't enough, heheh.."

The fox sits up straight, his ears perked, brow furrowed, jowls curled, and slowly takes off his aviators while turning his head towards Danny.

"Excuse me?"

The sheep's eyes widen, and he instinctively grabs hold of the fabric of the seat he's sitting on, his hooves seeking purchase among the pseudo-felt.

"Nonono, not like that! I-I was just pointing out how, like, right after the first fox cop, uh, there's already another fox going to the police academy, ya' know!"

Nick's aggressive expression goes slack, and he slumps into his seat, staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, right after the  _first_ fox cop, I go."

Danny relaxes seeing the fox's change of tone, and bits his lip, deep in thought.

"I'm guessin' you wanted to be the first?"

The vulpine gives a solemn nod in response, still staring at the ceiling. The sheep awkwardly stares out the window, gazing at the outskirts of Zootopia as the bus goes past. Danny looks at his reflection, and spots Nick, his eyes still stationary, pointed at the ceiling. The sheep frowns, and turns back to Nick.

"Well, at least you can still be a cop. It's not like your whole thing about being a cop was just so you could be the first, right?"

The fox looks down from the ceiling, but still fixates on the nothingness in front of him. His brow furrows, his eyes squinting.

"You've actually got a point there."

Danny smiles, relieved to find that his point got across.

"Really?!"

The vulpine smiles, and leans back.

"Yeah, ya' do. I guess I forgot I could still be a cop, as stupid as it sounds. 'Specially since I'm literally on a bus to the academy."

"So, you wanna be a cop cause of the job?"

Nick clicks his tongue, and stares out the window.

"Yup."

"And Nick Wilde becoming the first fox cop gave you the push?"

The fox nods.

"Right again."

Danny pauses for a moment, and sucks on the inside of his cheek.

"So why didn't you go to academy like, two waves ago?"

The vulpine sighs, his mouth forming a frown as he stares at the sheep.

"Ya' really wanna know? Alright, here's the saddest story known to mammalkind. So, when I was at ZCU, I was getting my criminal justice degree, right? Then some cop rabbit goes on a press conference and states that predators might be going savage because of their 'biology'. Sound familiar?"

Danny pauses, his mouth slightly opening as he realizes where this story is going.

Nick's brow furrows, his jowls curling up, and he stares ahead at the back of the seat in front of him.

"So, everyone starts freaking out, right? Well, I stuck around, until like a week after when the polar bear messed up the caribou in Tundratown, the staff asked all the preds to go home 'until further notice'. To their credit, once Bellwether was arrested they refunded everyone and I managed to get my degree, but, I figured, why risk my life for a city that's not afraid to throw me in the trash? Then, I literally did nothing for almost a entire year. I was just living on the refunded tuition. No job, no social life, just nothin' at all. Then, one morning I got a call from my dad telling me that the first fox cop just graduated academy. So, I figured I should be a cop, cause I had already lost the title as the first, so what would I miss out on next by just sitting around?"

The sheep ponders for a moment.

"I guess that mak-"

"Wait, they actually had the predators leave?"

The interruption came from the seat ahead of them: the fox glances up, ears forward, and spots a kangaroo partially turned around, looking over the back of the chair at both Danny and Nick. Her brow is creased; her ears forward in a clear quizzical mood.

"Oh, sorry, I should probably introduce myself, huh? I'm Kanga."

"I'm Nick, that's Danny."

The roo nods towards Danny, then faces back to Nick, rubbing her cheek, her hand completely covering up the black markings that signify her as a Western Grey.

"But, yeah, did they actually have the preds leave?"

The fox nods, and smiles as if he's in some sort of nostalgic flashback.

"Yup, you should've seen how they worded it too. So much bullshit-"

A bull across the aisle huffs very loudly, making it clear that yes, he heard that.

"Sorry. So much crap to try to make it look like it was for mammals' safety. 'Due to recent events regarding mammals of predator species, we, ZCU, are hereby requesting that all predator students, staff, and faculty return to their place of residence until further notice.' Then Bellwether got arrested; man, I wish I could'a seen their faces. Like, 'oh shit, we're gonna lose our jobs for this!' And, they did. Karma if you ask me."

Kanga chuckles, Danny, however, frowns and looks out the window.

"I still remember how good it felt to cash that check, it's just lik-"

"Hey Danny, feelin' alright bud?"

The fox's train of halt shut down by the kangaroo's interjection, his ears perk forward, and he turns towards Danny, who's still looking out the window whilst wearing a glum face.

"Yeah, what she said, you good?"

Danny sighs, not averting his gaze from the outside world.

"I'm fine, it's just, I feel some sorta responsibility whenever someone brings up the crap Bellwether did. You know, sheep thing. Like, yeah, I know I had nothin' to do with it and all, but, just, eugh. Hell, I kinda owe it to her. If she didn't screw things up, I wouldn't have decided to be a cop to like, restore the sheep's name or something. I'd still washing dishes at Panthera Bread."

Nick clicks his tongue.

"Well, at least somethin' positive c-" 

The vulpine's sentence is interrupted by a distinct 'bang' sound coming from the front of the bus. Suddenly, the bus tips towards the front right, and immediately veers onto the side of the road. As quick as the initial event happened, a hurried murmur rises among the passengers, which hushes as the driver takes the aisle.

"Alright, alright! It's just a flat! Now, does anyone have signal? The dipshits in the motor pool managed to screw up everything replacing the radio last week."

Nick near instantly slides out his phone, and powers it on. His eyes dart around the screen until he spots the signal bar in the top left corner. Or, rather, the lack of, it's normal staircase symbol replaced with an 'x'.

"That's a no on the signal, huh? Well, ya'll better get comfy, we're gonna be here for a while."

The fox's brow creases, and he looks out the window: Mountains. Lots of them. The vulpine rolls his eyes, he better get comfy, as the bus driver said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

30 minutes later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fox rubs his hands together, eyeing Danny.

"So, Danny, truth? Or dare?"

The sheep chuckles, and turns up a corner of his mouth into a smile formed more out of anxiety than actual humor.

"Truth, duh."

The fox taps his fingertips together, and develops a wicked grin.

"Do sheep actually have to get shorn once in a while?"

Danny rolls his eyes, and sighs out of exasperation.

"Yeah, once every few months. No different than a dentist appointment. Moving on! Kanga, truth or dare?"

The roo raises her brow, non-verbally asking the sheep if he's serious in that question.

"That's gonna have to be a truth there."

"Okay, does Outback Island actually have foot wide spiders?"

Kanga raises her brow once more, and this time also widens her eyes just a tad for more of the effect.

"You sure you wanna know that?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Yup. They're called Huntsman spiders, and they like to eat birds, mostly."

Nick cocks his ears forward.

"No they don't, there's no way."

The roo simply nods in return.

"Once we get to the Academy, I'll pull up a video my uncle sent me of a Huntsman eating a bird twice it's size."

The fox smirks, his brow raises, and his eyelids droop down.

"I'll hold you to that, be careful!"

"Since you're already talkin', Nick, truth or dare?"

The vulpine maintains his smug composure.

"Truth, friendo!"

Kanga and Danny both snort, and begin chuckling at that line. The roo rolls her eyes, and pipes up again.

"Really? 'Friendo'? Anyway, is there an actual thing with foxes and sunglasses? Or, like, what?"

"Oh, these?"

The fox pulls his aviators from the neckline of his shirt, and unfolds them, holding them out to the sunlight.

"Yeah, thing is, despite the thousands of years of evolution, us foxes still got night vision. Shitty thing about that, is that we're really sensitive to sunlight and like, brightness in general, I guess."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 hours later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kangaroo stretches her arms out, and rolls from her side and onto her back.

"Hey Nick, got any Queens?"

The vulpine, laying on his side, briefly goes through his hand.

"Go fish."

"Fuck!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 more hours later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick gulps, staring at the line of neon colored sugar-candy in front of him. He hadn't expected Danny  _and_ Kanga to dig in when he told the story!

"I hate you all."

The fox leans down, and runs his nose along the line, inhaling the powder at an alarming rate. As fast as he went in, the vulpine reels back, coughing out of his mouth as the sheep and the roo stare in shock. Nick smirks, and speaks in a highly plugged voice, thanks to the candy now taking refuge in his sinuses.

"See, told you I could do it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 hours later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanga sucks on her inner lip, pondering what she should say.

"Never have I ever, been to a Bounce House."

The roo and the fox both raise their hands, their expressions turning to shock as they spot Danny's lack of a hand raised. Nick breaks the silence.

"Danny, you've been to a bounce house!?"

The sheep raises his brow in confusion.

"Yeah? What, you guys didn't go to any birthday parties when you were a kid?"

Kanga and Nick both stare at eachother, Nick wearing an extremely twisted composure as he tries to not burst out laughing.

"No, Danny, not that kind of Bounce House."

"Huh? You're, not really making sense. You know what I'm talking about, right? You know, it's inflatable, you go in, jump around, that stuff?"

Nick's expression becomes even more contorted as he nears the limit.

"Trust me, we're talking about bounce houses. Just not the ones you see at kids' parties."

"Then what are you talkin' about?"

The fox's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets; his hands ball into fists at a last stand of keeping his fortitude.

"You'll find out some day."

A bright light fills the cabin of the bus as something turns around the corner. Nick sits up, his head peering over the sill, and spots.... a tow truck?

"Everyone! The tow truck's finally here!"

An uproar of cheer fills the bus; after all, they had been sitting on the side of the road for nearly 7 and a half hours, the noon's sun resting high and above. Kanga's ear twitches, hey brow furrowing.  
  
"Hey Nick?"  
  
The fox slouches back into his chair, silently nodding towards the kangaroo.  
  
"Yeah...?"  
  
 She sucks in her jowl, gently chewing on it.  
  
"We're gonna have to start Academy a day late, aren't we?"  
  
The fox's eyes widen, and he pulls down on his ears, cringing as he curls his tail up.  
  
"Fuuuuuuuuck."


End file.
